The Development Gap

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The Development Gap
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Measures of Development
GNP Gross National Product it shows how wealthy
(rich) a country is. It dos not take account of
some taxes. GNP per head (capita) of USA is
43,743 and Bangladesh is 467.
GNI Gross National Income measures the amount of
money a country earns and it shows how rich a
country is. GNI per head (capita) measures the
average amount of money each person earns before
tax. GNI per capita in USA is 44,710 and in
Bangladesh is 480.
BR Birth rates the more developed a country,
the lower the birth rate. CBR Crude Birth Rate
number of babies born per 1000 people per year.
Japan has a BR of 8.3. Ivory Coast has a BR of
35.3.
HDI Human Development Index is an index based on
3 variables life expectancy at birth level of
education, including both literacy rate and years
spent in school income adjusted for purchasing
power. Japan (a rich country) had a HDI of 0.949.
Ivory Coast ( a poor country) has an HDI of 0.421.
DR Death rates the more developed a country,
the lower the death rate. CDR Crude Death Rate
number of deaths per year per 1000 people. Japan
has a DR of 9.0. Ivory Coast has a DR of 15.4.
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Measures of Development
Infant mortality the number of babies (12
months) dying per 1000 live births. Japan has an
infant mortality of 3 and Ivory Coast has 118.
People per doctor the number of doctors per
1,000 people. USA has 2.6 per 1000 and Ivory
Coast has 0.1 per 1000.
Literacy Rate the of people who can read and
write. USA has a literacy rate of 100 and
Bangladesh has a rate of 47.5.
Access to safe water - the of people with
access to clean water. In UK there is 100 access
but in Bangladesh it is 74.
Life expectancy the number of years a person can
expect to live, usually taken from birth. Japan
has a life expectancy of 82.6 and Swaziland of
39.6.
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You have to understand choropleth maps which have
different colours to show different categories.
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Correlation between the different measures
As a country becomes more developed the standard
of living as measured by the whole range of
indicators rises. So countries should aim to
develop in order to lift their people out of
poverty.
Negative correlation between birth rate and GNI.
As the birth rate increases the poorer the
country becomes.
Positive correlation between birth rates and
infant mortality. As birth rates increase so
does the infant mortality rate.
Development means improving the economy (more
jobs), improving living conditions (social
factors) and improving the environment (cleaner
air, water and land)
Other positive correlations GNP GNI GNP
HDI GNP number of doctors GNP literacy
rate GNP access to clean water
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Limitations/ways of using a single development
measure
Birth rates are an excellent measure of
development they show that living standards
have risen for women in particular.
Death rates are a poor indicator of development
as death rates can be low because of a youthful
population structure not high living standards.
GNP and GNI are a confusing way of showing how
developed a country is because they do not tell
us how happy or satisfied people are.
Using only one indicator is not enough as it
doesnt tell us what is going on in a country and
it can mask huge differences between the rich and
poor because it is an average figure.
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Different ways of classifying the world
MEDC More Economically Developed country LEDC
Less Economically Developed Country NICs Newly
Industrialised Country
North/South North wealthy and industrialised
countries. South poorer, less mature and more
agricultural
First, second, third and fourth worlds. 1st
Europe 2nd - North America Australia 3rd
Poor countries e.g. India 4th Very poor
countries e.g. Somalia
Wealth five fold division 1 rich
industrialised countries 2. oil-exporting
countries 3. Newly industrialising countries 4.
Former communist countries 5. Heavily indebted
poorer countries
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Relationship between quality of life and the
standard of living
Different perceptions on what makes an
acceptable quality of life varies around the
world. In some countries people are happy with
fewer consume durables and believe that family
and friend are more important than possessions.
In hot countries, people can live outdoors and so
require less from their housing and fewer
clothes.
In poorer countries people are trying to improve
their own quality of life through education and
better health care.
What is better?
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Global inequalities factors affecting

• Human Factors
• Rich countries tend to have
• Well educated people
• Good health systems
• Welfare systems benefits
• Better economies so more jobs and opportunities
• Lower population growth
• Poorer countries tend to have
• Higher population growth
• More unstable governments

• Physical factors
• Rich countries tend to have
• Coastlines so trade is easy
• Temperate climates
• Fewer climatic hazards e.g. hurricanes
• Fewer climate related diseases e.g. malaria
• Poor countries tend to be
• Land locked so trade is difficult
• Tropical climates and diseases
• Many climatic hazards e.g. drought

Economic factors global imbalance of trade
between different parts of the world.
Environmental factors the impact of natural
hazards.
Social factors differences in the quantity and
quality of water
Political influences the impact of unstable
governments e.g. war, unrest, strife.
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Case Study of a natural hazard
Hurricane Ivan Grenada 2004
Very powerful hurricane hit the Caribbean island
of Grenada in September 2004. Huge damage. 90
of homes destroyed. Long term damage to the
development of the island occurred. Tourism, the
major industry was severely affected.
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World Trade

• Ways of reducing imbalances in world trade
• Fair Trade
• Trading Groups
• Debt abolition
• Conservation swaps
• Aid
• Sustainable development

The rich countries protect their own industries
by imposing tariffs and quotas. Tariffs are
government taxes on imported or exported
goods. Poor countries find it hard to compete in
the world market.

• Trading Groups
• The European Union
• Mercosur South America
• NAFTA The North
• American Free Trade Association

Fair Trade It is an organisation that sets
standards for trade with LEDCs. It guarantees a
fair price for the farmer. This pays for the
product and investment in local community
development projects. In return the farmer must
farm in an environmentally friendly way and treat
their workers fairly too.
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Debt and Aid
The reduction in debt repayments through debt
abolition and conservation swaps.
A conservation swap is an agreement between a
rich country and a poor country. The poor
country agrees not to clear its tropical
rainforest in return for its debts to be written
off.
Debt abolition is when a rich country wipes out
the money that the poor country owes it.
Type of aid Donor Countries Donor Countries Recipient Countries Recipient Countries
Type of aid Advantages Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages
Short-term aid Feels good to give money after a disaster None Helps to save lives Right help not given
Long-term aid People from MEDC can volunteer and help in projects. Long term trade. None New jobs new crops new schools and hospitals. Trade. Local people need new skills. Tractors but no petrol ? not sustainable. Schools but not enough money to pay teachers.
Top-down aid Donor in control. Money may be wasted on large scale projects. Large expensive projects e.g. dams. Ordinary people not effected.
Bottom-up aid Feel good factor. Action Aid. None Less corruption. Sustainable technology. Less charity money in a recession.
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Sustainable Development
The role of international aid donors in
encouraging sustainable development.
UK Aid - We help the world's poorest people to
lift themselves out of poverty. We help fragile
states e.g. Sudan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan,
Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of Congo,
where citizens often cannot rely on services such
as water, education and justice. We support
governments committed to tackling poverty,
upholding human rights, managing public money
wisely, tackling corruption and be open and
honest in how they govern.
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Case Study of a development project
Cahora Bassa dam, Mozambique The Cassa Borara dam
was begun by the Portuguese government of
Mozambique in the 1960s and it was finished in
1997. It is a huge HEP schemes with 3 major dams
along the River Zambezi. The Cassa Bassa dam is
the most important and the lake behind it is
huge. Most often power is sold to South Africa
and does not benefit the local people. It could
provide electricity for the whole of Mozambique.
It has caused huge environmental damage. The
shrimp industry has been destroyed. It could be
successful.
An example of a development large scale bilateral
aid project (aid given by one country to
another).
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The EU has big disparities in development
Some EU regions are poor e.g. Southern Italy Some
EU regions are rich e.g. South-east England Some
EU countries are poor e.g. Romania Some EU
countries are rich e.g. Germany Even in rich
countries some parts are poor The most
prosperous regions in terms of GDP per capita
(the standard measure of wellbeing) are all urban
London, Brussels and Hamburg. The wealthiest
country, Luxembourg, is more than seven times
richer than Romania and Bulgaria, the poorest and
newest EU members.
Why are there these differences? geographic
remoteness recent social and economic change a
combination of both. The impact of these
disadvantages is frequently evident in social
deprivation, poor quality schools, higher
joblessness and inadequate infrastructures. In
the case of some EU states, part of the handicap
is a legacy of their former centrally-planned
economic systems
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How is the EU reducing the gap?
Regional development policy the EU transfers
resources from affluent to poorer areas. The aim
is to modernise backward regions so that they can
catch up with the rest of the Union The European
Regional Development Fund (ERDF) - general
infrastructure, innovation, and investments. The
European Social Fund (ESF) - vocational training
projects and job-creation programmes. The
Cohesion Fund - environmental and transport
infrastructure projects and renewable energy.
Urban II Fund The economic and social
regeneration of cities and neighbourhoods in
crisis in order to promote sustainable urban
development. Improving 70 cities in the EU
buildings, transport, environment,
communities. Urban regeneration e.g. Belfast.
CAP Common Agricultural Policy Farmers get
subsidies for food production Quotas are set for
key products e.g. milk, beef Farmers paid to keep
land in good condition and look after animals
properly Food prices are now high in EU Farmers
paid to set aside land